George Rous (c.1744 – 11 June 1802) was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1776 to 1780. Rous was the third son of Thomas Rous of

Piercefield House Piercefield House is a largely ruined neo-classical country house near St Arvans, Monmouthshire, Wales, about north of the centre of Chepstow. The central block of the house was designed in the very late 18th century, by, or to the designs of ...

, Monmouthshire, and his wife Mary Bates, daughter of Thomas Bates. His father was a director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. Rous was probably educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

between 1756 and 1760 and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

on 16 December 1760, aged 16. He entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1763, transferred to

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1764 and was called to the bar in 1768. He married Charlotte Thomas, daughter of Rev. Hugh Thomas, dean of Ely. Rous was elected Member of Parliament for

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...

on the interest of

Francis Sykes Francis Sykes may refer to: *Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet (1732–1804), British diplomat, MP * Sir Francis Sykes, 2nd Baronet (c.1767–1804), MP for Wallingford * Sir Francis Sykes, 3rd Baronet (c.1799–1842), husband of Lady Henrietta Sykes, ...

at a by-election on 17 May 1776. The seat had been vacant for a year following the voiding of the previous election on grounds of "most notorious bribery and corruption". Rous did not stand again for Shaftesbury in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

. Rous became Counsel to the East India Company in 1781 and held the post until his death. He succeeded his brother Thomas Bates Rous in 1799 and sold his estate at Moor Park. In 1802, he became bencher of the Inner Temple. He died on 11 June 1802 and was buried at Temple Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rous, George 1740s births 1802 deaths People from Monmouthshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780